Lineup set for second music, arts festival

In its first year, the Lexington-rooted North Carolina Music and Arts Festival was rated the No. 1 live music show in 2012 by Yes! Weekly magazine. Organizers promise more this year.

BY NASH DUNNThe Dispatch

In its first year, the Lexington-rooted North Carolina Music and Arts Festival was rated the No. 1 live music show in 2012 by Yes! Weekly magazine. That set the idiomatic "bar of success" pretty high.But organizers say the festival still has room to grow, and they plan to offer ticket holders more entertainment and amenities in 2013.The second annual festival is scheduled for Nov. 29-30 at the Edward C. Smith Civic Center and High Rock Outfitters in uptown. Weekend general admission and VIP tickets can be purchased at www.ncmusicfest.com for $50 and $80, respectively.The event's musical lineup released recently includes more than a dozen familiar names from the region and across the state, headlined by rock-folk-bluegrass pros Acoustic Syndicate. Other bands tabbed to perform include Big Daddy Love, The Broadcast, The Deluge, Darkwater Rising, Overmountain Men and The Honeycutters. As its name suggests, the festival is also an outlet for visual and performance artists. This year's event includes performances by PoetShe, among several others, which is a female spoken and literary group based in Greensboro. In addition to craft beer and food vendors that will be on site, this year's festival will also feature food trucks for the first time, which will be located on Main Street. In addition, organizers have obtained the proper permits to host urban camping behind the civic center in the lot that hosts the BBQ Capital Cook-off, said Chris Phelps, one of the festival's founders and the co-owner of High Rock Outfitters."The goal of this thing is to be the premiere music and arts festival in North Carolina," Phelps said this week. About 1,000 people attended the inaugural festival, which was held in late December 2012. Phelps said they moved this year's dates to surround the Thanksgiving holiday to obtain a set weekend and avoid competing with other entertainment that accompanies New Year's Eve."I hope we are going to be surprised by the turnout," Phelps said, adding that High Rock Outfitters usually does a lot of business surrounding Thanksgiving while area citizens are home for the holiday. "Hopefully it will be a positive for other local businesses as well." High Rock Outfitters general manager Brittany Wilson said organizers are still looking for volunteers and vendors for the event. Anyone who is interested can contact her at 596-7154 or at brittany@ncmusicfest.com.In addition to drawing locals, last year's event also saw ticket holders from throughout the state and the Southeast. Robin Bivens, executive director of the Lexington Tourism Authority, said it's important for the city and county to have those type of visitors."Chris is again creating a reason for folks to come to Lexington," Bivens said. "With the following he already has in coming to the uptown venue, the potential is huge."For more information on the festival, go to www.ncmusicfest.com or search for the festival on Facebook.Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com. Follow Nash on Twitter: @LexDispatchNash.